There is a growing concern over possible Fed tapering that has caused stocks to fall and the Dow Jones Industrial Average to retreat from record highs. When yields move higher you will see some of the more defensive sectors take a hit. Right now consumer confidence is at its highest since 2008 and house prices jumped the most in seven years.

U.S. stocks fell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreating from a record, amid concern that the Federal Reserve could begin to taper its debt-buying program as the economy continues to improve.

Nine out of 10 groups in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) declined, as consumer-staple, utility and health-care stocks fell the most. Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble Co. slumped more than 2.2 percent, pacing losses among the biggest U.S. companies. Lennar Corp. (LEN) and PulteGroup Inc. fell at least 3.3 percent as investors sold shares of homebuilders.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.7 percent to 1,648.36 in New York. The Dow retreated 106.59 points, or 0.7 percent, to 15,302.80. More than 6.6 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges today, or 5.6 percent more than than the three-month average.

“When yields do move higher, you’ll see some of those more defensive sectors take a hit,” Peter Jankovskis, who helps oversee $3.5 billion as co-chief investment officer of Lisle, Illinois-based Oakbrook Investments LLC, said by telephone. “The big question is how sustainable is the growth that we’re having now.”

The S&P 500 retreated as much as 1.2 percent today after the yield on the country’s benchmark 10-year debt surged late yesterday to a 13-month high of 2.17 percent as a two-year sale drew the fewest bids since February 2011. Yields fell five basis points today to 2.12 percent as the government auctioned $35 billion of five-year notes at a lower-than-forecast yield.

Stimulus, Data

The benchmark equity gauge dropped 1.1 percent last week as Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank could reduce monetary stimulus if officials see signs of sustained improvement in growth. The index rose 0.6 percent yesterday and the Dow returned to a record after data showed consumer confidence climbed to the highest level since 2008 and house prices jumped the most in seven years, indicating growth in the world’s largest economy is picking up.

“We’ll have days when people are focusing on the positive economic story and days when people are focusing more on the issue that the Fed has in terms of slowing down their asset purchases and eventually moving interest rates,” Dan Curtin, the Boston-based global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, which oversees about $900 billion, said by telephone.

‘Significant Accommodation’

Equities pared losses today after Fed Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said “significant accommodation remains appropriate at this time.” Rosengren, who is a voter this year on monetary policy, also said it would make sense to consider a “modest” reduction in bond purchases after a few more months of improvement in the labor market and economy.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, or VIX, rose 2.4 percent to 14.83. The equity volatility gauge, which moves in the opposite direction as the S&P 500 about 80 percent of the time, is down 18 percent for the year after jumping 12 percent last week.

Concern that slower Fed bond-buying will push Treasury yields higher prompted investors to sell shares of companies that have the highest dividend yields. Utility and telephone stocks fell 1.5 percent as groups. The two industries yield the most in the S&P 500.

While yield-seeking investors drove so-called defensive stocks to among the biggest gains in the S&P 500 in the first quarter, they’ve been lagging other industries since then, with utilities, phone companies and consumer-staple companies the worst performers.

Utilities Slump

Utilities, which yield 4.1 percent, fell for the fifth straight day today, the longest losing streak of the year. Consolidated Edison Inc., the supplier of power to New York City, slumped 1.4 percent to $57.74.

McDonald’s Corp. retreated 2.2 percent to $99.05. The world’s largest restaurant chain’s global comparable sales were down 0.9 percent through April this year, according to Chief Executive Officer Don Thompson at an investor conference today. David Palmer, an analyst at UBS AG in New York, lowered his full-year profit forecast for McDonald’s because of a “modestly worse” European consumer environment and greater foreign currency headwinds.